Photo: Audi / edited
Not long ago, Motor Trend reportedly learned from Audi’s public relations department in Germany that a new station wagon is coming stateside. This… uhm, little slip of the tongue was immediately shot down, with Audi denying availability of the RS 4 Avant in the U.S. of A.
Representatives of the Ingolstadt-based automaker told motoring publication The Drive that Audi has no plans to bring the Audi Sport model to North America. Better late than… well, never, the peeps at Motor Trend also received confirmation from Audi that the RS 4 Avant wouldn’t be sold in America. The company ended its claim with “at this time,” leaving room for speculation.
The hopeful speculation, however, was also shot down by the reps who talked with The Drive, who clearly stated that Audi has no plans to sell the RS 4 Avant in this part of the world. It’s not so much a question of when or if, but of why. The answer is, of course, the limited appeal of a high-priced sports wagon. The RS 6 Avant isn’t a big seller either, so why would the RS 4 Avant be added to the lineup with a lesser mill and less power?
In every single way imaginable, the RS 4 Avant, sadly, doesn’t make sense in the United States and Canada at this point. It and lesser members of the A4 family will also be replaced by a thoroughly redesigned A4 series.
The sixth generation, internally referred to as B10, is coming this year as a 2024 model in both four-door sedan and five-door Avant station wagon flavors. Still based on the Volkswagen Group MLB Evo platform that underpins pretty much everything from the A4 to the Q8, the A4 will inevitably spawn an electrified RS variant.
The RennSport in question is believed to adopt plug-in hybrid assistance for the 2.9-liter V6 of the current generation, with said internal combustion engine rated at 450 ps (444 horsepower) and 600 Nm (443 pound-feet) of peak torque. The B9-based RS 4 Avant rolled out in 2017 at the Frankfurt Motor Show for the 2017 model year, boasting a torque-converter automatic supplied by ZF, as opposed to the previous gen’s double clutchter.
Previously known as quattro, Audi Sport unveiled the ultimate expression of the B9 RS 4 Avant in 2022. Dubbed competition plus in lowercase letters, the go-faster package doesn’t come with extra power. It puts a higher emphasis on dynamics while not compromising the ride comfort that one expects from a daily driver.
RS Sport Suspension Pro is the name of the package’s highlight feature, a manually-adjustable coilover setup that drops the ride height by 10 millimeters. Three-way adjustable dampers and a higher spring rate also need to be mentioned, along with an enhanced differential that enhances the driving experience with more rear-drive bias.
The hopeful speculation, however, was also shot down by the reps who talked with The Drive, who clearly stated that Audi has no plans to sell the RS 4 Avant in this part of the world. It’s not so much a question of when or if, but of why. The answer is, of course, the limited appeal of a high-priced sports wagon. The RS 6 Avant isn’t a big seller either, so why would the RS 4 Avant be added to the lineup with a lesser mill and less power?
In every single way imaginable, the RS 4 Avant, sadly, doesn’t make sense in the United States and Canada at this point. It and lesser members of the A4 family will also be replaced by a thoroughly redesigned A4 series.
The sixth generation, internally referred to as B10, is coming this year as a 2024 model in both four-door sedan and five-door Avant station wagon flavors. Still based on the Volkswagen Group MLB Evo platform that underpins pretty much everything from the A4 to the Q8, the A4 will inevitably spawn an electrified RS variant.
The RennSport in question is believed to adopt plug-in hybrid assistance for the 2.9-liter V6 of the current generation, with said internal combustion engine rated at 450 ps (444 horsepower) and 600 Nm (443 pound-feet) of peak torque. The B9-based RS 4 Avant rolled out in 2017 at the Frankfurt Motor Show for the 2017 model year, boasting a torque-converter automatic supplied by ZF, as opposed to the previous gen’s double clutchter.
Previously known as quattro, Audi Sport unveiled the ultimate expression of the B9 RS 4 Avant in 2022. Dubbed competition plus in lowercase letters, the go-faster package doesn’t come with extra power. It puts a higher emphasis on dynamics while not compromising the ride comfort that one expects from a daily driver.
RS Sport Suspension Pro is the name of the package’s highlight feature, a manually-adjustable coilover setup that drops the ride height by 10 millimeters. Three-way adjustable dampers and a higher spring rate also need to be mentioned, along with an enhanced differential that enhances the driving experience with more rear-drive bias.
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